Vehicle, In Particular Rail Vehicle, With A Vehicle Body And A Floor

ABSTRACT

A vehicle, in particular a rail vehicle, includes a vehicle body and a floor. The floor is separated from the vehicle body by a resiliently deformable intermediate member, in at least one edge portion or section adjacent the vehicle body. The intermediate member is retained by a vehicle-body-side securing profile which is disposed on the body.

The invention relates to a vehicle, in particular a rail vehicle, with a vehicle body and a floor.

In vehicles with different materials for the floor and the vehicle body shell, there is the problem that the floor and the vehicle body expand differently in the event of temperature fluctuations. This may in some cases lead to a collision of the floor with the vehicle body in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and/or in the transverse direction of the vehicle. In this instance, increases of stress are produced in the components and may occasionally lead to an immediate or subsequent failure of the component.

An object of the invention is accordingly to provide a vehicle, in particular a rail vehicle, which takes better account of the problem of potential temperature fluctuations than previous vehicles.

This object is achieved according to the invention with a vehicle having the features according to patent claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the vehicle according to the invention are set out in dependent claims.

Accordingly, there is provision according to the invention for the floor in at least one edge portion adjacent the vehicle body to be separated from the vehicle body by a resiliently deformable intermediate member, wherein the intermediate member is retained by means of a vehicle-body-side securing profile which is arranged on the vehicle body.

A significant advantage of the vehicle according to the invention can be seen in that the resiliently deformable intermediate member enables a relative movement between the vehicle body and floor in the case of temperature fluctuations as a result of the resilience thereof, whereby the occurrence of mechanical stresses in the components is prevented or at least reduced.

It is considered to be advantageous for the vehicle-body-side securing profile to have a hollow chamber which extends in the longitudinal direction of the securing profile. Such a hollow chamber increases the stability of the securing profile which retains the intermediate member; furthermore—and this is particularly advantageous—the hollow chamber can be used to heat the securing profile. The hollow chamber preferably has a closed contour in cross-section.

The vehicle-body-side securing profile is preferably a separate component which is secured, in particular screwed, to the vehicle body. Preferably, the securing profile is an extruded profile-member whose longitudinal direction is oriented in a parallel (or perpendicular) manner relative to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle in order—together with the intermediate member which is secured thereto—to enable a relative movement between the floor and vehicle body in the transverse direction of the vehicle (or longitudinal direction of the vehicle).

Alternatively, the vehicle-body-side securing profile may also form a component of the vehicle body or vehicle body shell, in particular an integral component of the vehicle body or vehicle body shell, for example, when the vehicle body or the vehicle body shell is produced from extruded profile-members.

In order to enable a relative movement between the floor and the vehicle body in the transverse direction of the vehicle at both—when viewed from the vehicle side—lateral edges of the floor, it is considered to be advantageous for a first resiliently deformable intermediate member and a first vehicle-body-side securing profile which retains the first intermediate member in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle to be arranged at one vehicle side and for a second resiliently deformable intermediate member and a second vehicle-body-side securing profile which retains the second intermediate member in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle to be arranged at the opposing vehicle side.

A relative movement both in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and in the transverse direction of the vehicle can advantageously be made possible when the floor is separated along the entire outer contour thereof from the vehicle body by resiliently deformable intermediate members and forms a floating floor.

In order to enable the vehicle-body-side securing profile to be heated in a particularly simple manner, it is considered to be advantageous for a heating element to be retained or guided in the hollow chamber.

The heating element may preferably be an electrical heating element which is arranged inside the hollow chamber. Electrical connections of the electrical heating element are preferably guided outward out of the hollow chamber through one of the two end-face openings of the hollow chamber or through both end-face openings of the hollow chamber.

An alternative but equally advantageous feature is for the hollow chamber to form or contain a fluid line. In the case of such an embodiment, it is particularly advantageous for the hollow chamber to have a closed contour in cross-section and consequently to be able to take on the fluid guiding itself or alone.

The end-side openings of the hollow chamber are preferably used to supply or discharge a fluid.

With respect to fluid handling, it is considered to be advantageous for there to be connected to one of the end-face openings of the hollow chamber a supply device by means of which there can be supplied to the hollow chamber a fluid which flows through the hollow chamber after being supplied.

In order to enable the fluid to be heated in a particularly simple manner before it is supplied to the hollow chamber, it is considered to be advantageous for the supply device to have a heating device.

It is possible to supply as the fluid, for example, a gas, for cost reasons preferably air, to the hollow chamber. Accordingly, it is advantageous for the supply device to comprise a ventilator or a fan which during operation supplies as the fluid gas, in particular air, to the hollow chamber.

Alternatively, a liquid can be used as a fluid for heating the hollow chamber; in this instance, it is considered to be advantageous for the supply device to comprise a pump which during operation supplies a liquid to the hollow chamber.

In order to prevent a liquid which is supplied to the hollow chamber from being able to freeze therein, it is considered to be advantageous for the freezing point of the liquid to be sufficiently low. Preferably, the freezing point of the liquid is less than −20° C. It is possible to use, for example, a glycol- or ethylene glycol-containing liquid as the liquid.

In order to achieve particularly good thermal insulation between the two securing profiles and between the floor and the vehicle body, it is considered to be advantageous for the intermediate member to comprise a thermally insulating material, in particular rubber or plastics material.

A good thermal insulation by the intermediate member can be achieved if the intermediate member has in cross-section one or more hollow chambers whose longitudinal direction extends parallel with the longitudinal direction of the hollow chamber of the vehicle-body-side securing profile. The intermediate member may, for example, be an extruded profile-member.

With regard to adequate safety of access in the region of the intermediate member or in the region between the floor and the vehicle body, it is advantageous for the intermediate member to be covered with a covering profile. The covering profile is at the vehicle body side preferably secured to the vehicle body and/or the vehicle-body-side securing profile; at the floor side, the covering profile is preferably positioned in a displaceable manner on the floor or the floor-side securing profile which is fitted to the floor and which retains the intermediate member at the floor side.

In a particularly preferred manner, the resiliently deformable intermediate member separates the floor from the vehicle body shell, in particular a vehicle body shell wall of the vehicle body shell. The vehicle-body-side securing profile is accordingly preferably fitted to the vehicle body shell, in particular a vehicle body shell wall, or is alternatively formed by a portion of the vehicle body shell or the vehicle body shell wall.

The invention further relates to a method for operating a vehicle having a vehicle body and floor, in particular for operating a vehicle, as has been described above.

According to the invention, with regard to such a method, there is provision for heating a hollow chamber which extends in the longitudinal direction of a vehicle-body-side securing profile which carries a resiliently deformable intermediate member which separates the floor from the vehicle body.

With regard to the advantages of the method according to the invention, reference may be made to the above statements in relation to the vehicle according to the invention since the advantages of the vehicle according to the invention substantially correspond to those of the method according to the invention.

The invention is explained in greater detail below with reference to embodiments; in the drawings by way of example:

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a vehicle-body-side securing profile, a resiliently deformable intermediate member which is secured thereto and a floor-side securing profile which is connected to the intermediate member,

FIG. 2 shows the arrangement according to FIG. 1 formed from the vehicle-body-side securing profile, the intermediate member and the floor-side securing profile after installation in a vehicle body of a rail vehicle which is not illustrated in greater detail,

FIG. 3 shows the arrangement comprising the vehicle-body-side securing profile, the intermediate member and the floor-side securing profile according to FIG. 1 after assembly of an electrical heating device in a hollow chamber of the vehicle-body-side securing profile, and

FIG. 4 shows the arrangement formed from the vehicle-body-side securing profile, the intermediate member and the floor-side securing profile according to FIG. 1 after an air supply device has been connected to a hollow chamber of the vehicle-body-side securing profile.

In the figures, for the sake of clarity, the same reference symbols are always used for identical or comparable components.

FIG. 1 shows a securing profile 10 which is suitable for securing to a vehicle body wall (not shown in FIG. 1) of a vehicle body (or vehicle body shell) and is consequently referred to below as a vehicle-body-side securing profile.

The vehicle-body-side securing profile 10 is preferably an extruded profile-member whose extrusion direction or whose longitudinal direction is indicated in FIG. 1 with the reference symbol S.

The vehicle-body-side securing profile 10 has securing holes 11 which enable the securing profile 10 to be screwed to the vehicle body wall. FIG. 1 further shows a hollow chamber 12 which extends in the extrusion direction or the longitudinal direction S of the securing profile 10 and which has two end-face openings 12 a. The hollow chamber 12 has in the embodiment according to FIG. 1 a closed contour.

In addition to the hollow chamber 12, the vehicle-body-side securing profile 10 is provided with a rail-like retention portion 13 which enables securing of a resiliently deformable intermediate member 20 to the securing profile 10. The deformable intermediate member 20 is preferably an extruded profile-member of rubber or plastics material, that is to say, a material with the lowest possible thermal conductivity.

The resiliently deformable intermediate member 20 is also provided with hollow chambers which are indicated in FIG. 1 with the reference symbol 21. The longitudinal direction of the hollow chambers 21 preferably extends parallel with the longitudinal direction of the hollow chamber 12 and consequently parallel with the extrusion direction or longitudinal direction S of the securing profile 10.

At the side of the resiliently deformable intermediate member 20 facing away from the vehicle-body-side securing profile 10, there is fitted a securing profile 30 which is suitable for assembly on a floor of a rail vehicle not shown in FIG. 1 and which is consequently also referred to below as a floor-side securing profile 30.

In order to secure the floor-side securing profile 30, there are provided securing holes 31 which enable the securing profile 30 to be screwed to the floor.

In order to secure the floor-side securing profile 30 to the resiliently deformable intermediate member 20, there is provided a rail-like retention portion 32 which in terms of its shape may correspond to the rail-like retention portion 13 of the vehicle-body-side securing profile 10.

The floor-side securing profile 30 is also preferably an extruded profile-member; the longitudinal direction or extrusion direction of the floor-side securing profile 30 preferably extends parallel with the longitudinal direction S or extrusion direction of the vehicle-body-side securing profile 10.

FIG. 2 shows the arrangement according to FIG. 1 formed from the vehicle-body-side securing profile 10, the resiliently deformable intermediate member 20 and the floor-side securing profile 30 after assembly in a vehicle body (or a vehicle body shell) 40 of a rail vehicle 50. The vehicle-body-side securing profile 10 is screwed to the vehicle body wall 41 of the vehicle body 40 by means of securing screws.

The floor-side securing profile 30 is securely screwed to a floor 60 of the rail vehicle by means of securing screws.

The resiliently deformable intermediate member 20 which is located between the two securing profiles 10 and 30 and which is retained thereby consequently separates the floor 60 at the edge side from the vehicle body wall 41 so that the floor 60 can move relative to the vehicle body wall 41, for example, in the event of temperature fluctuations and the different thermal expansion or thermal contraction of the materials which occurs with different thermal coefficients.

In order to ensure safety of access in the transition region between the floor 60 and the vehicle body wall 41, the region of the resiliently deformable intermediate member 20 in the embodiment according to FIG. 2 is covered with a covering profile 70. The covering profile 70 is fixed at the vehicle-body-side and, for example, screwed to the vehicle body wall 41 of the vehicle 40. At the floor side, the covering profile 70 is not fixed, but is instead positioned in a displaceable manner on the floor 60. If, in the event of temperature fluctuations, there is a relative movement of the floor 60 relative to the vehicle body wall 41 and consequently an expansion or compression of the resiliently deformable intermediate member 20, the covering profile 70 will be able to move on the floor 60 so that the covering profile 70 does not counteract or prevent the relative movement of the floor 60 relative to the vehicle body wall 41.

In order to ensure good thermal insulation between the inner space of the vehicle 50 and the portion below the resiliently deformable intermediate member 20, the intermediate member 20, as already mentioned, is preferably provided with the hollow chambers 21 since these considerably increase the thermal insulation of the intermediate member 20.

The hollow chamber 12 of the vehicle-body-side securing profile 10 can be used to heat the securing profile 10 and the covering profile 70 in order to prevent a slippery formation on the covering profile 70 in winter and to reduce the risk of accidents. Embodiments of how the hollow chamber 12 can be heated are explained in greater detail below in relation to FIGS. 3 and 4.

FIG. 3 shows the arrangement comprising the vehicle-body-side securing profile 10, the resiliently deformable intermediate member 20 and the floor-side securing profile 30 according to FIG. 1 after an electrical heating device has been pushed into the hollow chamber 12 of the securing profile 10 in the longitudinal direction S. The electrical heating device 100 preferably extends over the entire length—when viewed in the longitudinal direction S—of the hollow chamber 12 or over the entire length of the securing profile 10 in the longitudinal direction S.

With a view to simple electrical contacting of the electrical heating device 100, it is considered to be advantageous for electrical connections 110 of the heating device 100 to be guided out of the securing profile 10 at an end-face opening 12 a of the hollow chamber 12.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 3, the hollow chamber 12 of the securing profile 10 serves to retain or carry the electrical heating device 100. In order to ensure this function, it is not absolutely necessary for the hollow chamber 12 to have a closed contour; the contour of the hollow chamber 12 has to be suitable only for retaining the heating device 100. Slots or the like in the contour of the hollow chamber 12 are non-critical as long as the retention function of the hollow chamber 12 remains ensured.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 3, the hollow chamber 12 or the vehicle-body-side securing profile 10 is thus heated in an electrical manner in order to heat the covering profile which is illustrated in FIG. 2 and which is located above the intermediate member 20 and to protect it from frost.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment in which the arrangement according to FIG. 1 formed from the vehicle-body-side securing profile 10, the resiliently deformable intermediate member 20 and the floor-side securing profile 30 has been provided with a supply device 200 for supplying warm air L. The supply device 200 comprises a hose 210 which is connected to the end-face opening 12 a of the hollow chamber 12 and which connects the hollow chamber 12 to an air channel 220 of the supply device 200. The air channel 220 may be fitted as a separate component to the vehicle body wall 41 according to FIG. 1 or may form an integral component of the vehicle body wall 41. For example, the air channel 220 may be formed by an extruded profile portion of a vehicle-body-side extruded profile-member of the vehicle body 40.

The air channel 220 is connected to a fan 230 and a heating device 240 which are illustrated only schematically in FIG. 4.

If, in the case of low temperatures, for example, during winter, a slippery formation in the region of the covering profile 70 according to FIG. 2 is intended to be prevented, the hollow chamber 12 and consequently the vehicle-body-side securing profile 10 can be heated by hot air being supplied to the hollow chamber 12 by the fan 230 and the heating device 240 through the vehicle-body-side air channel 220 and the hose 210. In the embodiment according to FIG. 4, the vehicle-body-side securing profile 10 and the covering profile 70 according to FIG. 2 are therefore heated by a fluid in the form of gas which is directed through the hollow chamber 12. The hollow chamber 12 consequently performs the function of a fluid line.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 4, the hollow chamber 12 itself acts as a fluid line; alternatively, it is possible inside the hollow chamber 12 to provide a fluid hose which takes over directly the fluid line. In such a case, it is not necessary for the profile of the hollow chamber 12 or the contour of the hollow chamber 12 to be completely closed; instead, it is sufficient for the profile or the outer contour of the hollow chamber 12 to be suitable for retaining the fluid line. Slots, gaps or other openings in the hollow chamber profile 12 are consequently non-critical when a separate fluid line is provided.

Although the invention has been illustrated and described in greater detail by preferred embodiments, the invention is not limited by the disclosed examples and other variations can be derived therefrom by the person skilled in the art without departing from the protective scope of the invention. 

1-15. (canceled)
 16. A vehicle or rail vehicle, comprising: a vehicle body; a floor having at least one edge portion adjacent said vehicle body; a resiliently deformable intermediate member separating said at least one edge portion of said floor from said vehicle body; and a vehicle-body-side securing profile disposed on said vehicle body and retaining said intermediate member.
 17. The vehicle according to claim 16, wherein said vehicle-body-side securing profile has a longitudinal profile direction and a hollow chamber extended along said longitudinal profile direction.
 18. The vehicle according to claim 17, wherein said hollow chamber has a closed cross-sectional contour.
 19. The vehicle according to claim 17, which further comprises a heating device retained or guided in said hollow chamber.
 20. The vehicle according to claim 17, which further comprises an electrical heating device disposed in said hollow chamber.
 21. The vehicle according to claim 20, wherein said hollow chamber has two end-face openings, and said electrical heating device has electrical connections guided outward out of said hollow chamber through at least one of said two end-face openings of said hollow chamber.
 22. The vehicle according to claim 17, wherein said hollow chamber has end-face openings, said hollow chamber forms a fluid line, and a supply device is connected to one of said end-face openings for supplying a fluid to said hollow chamber for flowing through said hollow chamber.
 23. The vehicle according to claim 22, wherein said supply device has a heating device for heating the fluid before being supplied to said hollow chamber.
 24. The vehicle according to claim 22, wherein said supply device includes a ventilator or a fan for supplying a gas as the fluid to said hollow chamber during operation.
 25. The vehicle according to claim 24, wherein the gas is air.
 26. The vehicle according to claim 22, wherein said supply device includes a pump supplying a liquid as the fluid to said hollow chamber during operation.
 27. The vehicle according to claim 17, wherein said intermediate member is formed of a thermally insulating material.
 28. The vehicle according to claim 27, wherein said thermally insulating material is a rubber or plastics material.
 29. The vehicle according to claim 27, wherein said intermediate member has a cross-section including at least one hollow chamber having a longitudinal direction extending parallel to a longitudinal direction of said hollow chamber of said vehicle-body-side securing profile.
 30. The vehicle according to claim 16, which further comprises: a covering profile covering said intermediate member; said covering profile having a vehicle body side and a floor side; said covering profile being secured at said vehicle body side to at least one of said vehicle body or said vehicle-body-side securing profile; and said covering profile being displaceably positioned at said floor side on said floor.
 31. The vehicle according to claim 16, which further comprises: a covering profile covering said intermediate member; said covering profile having a vehicle body side and a floor side; a floor-side securing profile being fitted to said floor and retaining said intermediate member at said floor side; said covering profile being secured at said vehicle body side to at least one of said vehicle body or said vehicle-body-side securing profile; and said covering profile being displaceably positioned at said floor side on said floor-side securing profile.
 32. The vehicle according to claim 16, wherein: said vehicle body includes a vehicle body shell; said intermediate member separates said floor from said vehicle body shell; and said vehicle-body-side securing profile is disposed on said vehicle body shell.
 33. The vehicle according to claim 16, wherein: said vehicle body includes a vehicle body shell having a shell wall; said intermediate member separates said floor from said vehicle body shell wall; and said vehicle-body-side securing profile is disposed on said vehicle body shell wall.
 34. A method for operating a vehicle, the method comprising the following steps: providing a vehicle including: a vehicle body, a floor having at least one edge portion adjacent the vehicle body, a resiliently deformable intermediate member separating the at least one edge portion of the floor from the vehicle body, and a vehicle-body-side securing profile disposed on the vehicle body, retaining the intermediate member and having a hollow chamber extended along a longitudinal profile direction the vehicle-body-side securing profile; and heating the hollow chamber. 